Tuesday, July 26, 2016

As engaging as reading can be, sometimes you just can’t seem to get up to finish what you’ve set sail for. Maybe you have chosen a reading challenge, perhaps a movie night is coming up, and you want to catch up with the books beforehand, or maybe you even need to read certain books for work. Whatever is the case, here are some tips that will help you to finish whatever reads you started.

Select challenges that are interesting you

Naturally, the most efficient way to finish anything is to be genuinely interested in it, or at least to be interested in what you are going to learn out of it. Selecting the right list of books for your challenge will not only motivate you to keep going and make your challenge easier as well as much more fun, but it also makes a lot of sense, when you think about it. After all, why would you want to waste your valuable reading time with books you never really wanted to read in the first place?

Schedule time to read

If reading is serious business to you, you might need to consider planning in a fixed amount of time every day, where you can read without distractions. Maybe an hour and or two. Even half an hour is better than nothing. Make sure that everyone living with you knows and respects that this is the time when you don’t want to be disturbed. For extra effect, chose your time in a way that still leaves room for a longer session, just in case you get so immersed in your story that you don’t want to stop. More often than not, getting started the only part that’s hard.

Always take your book(s) with you

Wherever you go, you should take at least one of your books with you, or if you also enjoy eBooks, bring your eReader. Whether you’re using public transportation, have your lunch break or sit in an actual waiting room… In our everyday life, we spend an incredible amount of time waiting. So instead of playing around with your smartphone, you might as use that spare time to catch up on your reading challenge.

Make a distraction-free trip

Take some time, grab one of the books on your list and go someplace you don’t usually go. A change of scene can really make it easier to form a new habit. Maybe you can find a nice spot on the beach, a particularly idyllic place in the park, or a nice coffee shop where you can have a reading session over a cup of coffee. You can even make such reading trips your personal, weekly ritual.

Get started right now

We tend to make up little excuses why we can’t take the time to read. Well, you found the time to read this article, didn’t you? So unless you’re reading this at work, why don’t you open your book right now and get going with your challenge instead? You’d already be 500 words in by now ;)

About the Author

Ben Wendtner is an Austrian author and the creator of the online writing platform Belletristica, a place to publish, enjoy and chat about written words of all kinds.

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